Summer ends too quickly. It’s especially quick when it’s the last summer you’ll ever have. Next summer, I’ll be spending the first six weeks studying in the library because my life depends on it, and then I’ll follow that up by spending the rest of my life working in a hospital. So how did I spend my last week in California? I stuffed my face silly during a short trip to San Francisco.
I don’t think my digestive system has been the same ever since.
The problem I face every time I go to Los Angeles or San Francisco is this: I only visit for a couple of days every so often, and there are only a limited amount of meals that can be eaten during the day–that amount being governed by how much I pain and discomfort I can tolerate from overstuffing my stomach. So the real problem is: deciding if I should stick to the restaurants I know will meet my expectations of deliciousness, or if I should venture out and try new restaurants? This was especially problematic this time around since I knew it would be a long time before I would return to San Francisco. It should’ve been an easy decision to revisit my old favorites one last time before the rest of my life began, but for some reason, I chose to explore what the city by the bay had to offer. Unfortunately, that meant I had some bland meals, which amounted to tasteless calories. But on the upside, I discovered Mamacita’s, which has now become one of my favorite places—if not THE favorite—to eat. And that was after tasting just four of their dishes.
I’ll save Mamacita’s for its own post later. It needs a post of its own.
So for now, I’ll just post more food porn with very little description—the best kind of post, right?
My first meal had to be something familiar. I needed some good food that I couldn’t get in Fresno, so we went to King of Thai for some beef noodle soup, pumpkin curry, and pad thai.
The noodle soup was saltier and darker in color than Vietnamese pho, but is more similar to pho than it is to ramen or Taiwanese beef noodle soup. This bowl came with some cuts of beef flank (I think) and beef balls. And I’m pretty sure there was some MSG in there. Noodle soups just aren’t fantastic without MSG. Note: they can be good—even great—without MSG, but they’ll never be fantastic.
The pumpkin curry was made with kabocha, and had only a subtle pumpkin flavor. I don’t know how to intensify pumpkin flavor with anything other than cinnamon. I can’t remember if it was spicy, but I’m sure it can be modified.
Pad thai. Good.
The next morning I went to Crepes A Go Go, a chain with multiple locations in the bay area. Out of all the crepe places I’ve tried, this place has the best crepes in my opinion because the majority of the crepe is firm, yet soft, and the outside edges are crispy. That crispiness is what separates crepes from rolled-up giant thin pancakes in my opinion. This particular crepe was filled with egg, turkey, and jack cheese–a pretty standard combination of foods.
This breakfast was followed by some really bland meals at restaurants I would rather forget, but I won’t because I need to remember not to go there because I don’t like meals that have no flavor. Unless I’m sick and I need to eat bland foods, that is.
That Takes The Cake is a small cupcake shop on Union by Steiner. I’ve been here a couple times, and enjoyed their cupcakes, but mostly the cake part; I hate frosting. Fortunately, That Takes The Cake doesn’t go overboard with frosting, unlike other places that I’ve seen. These remind me of cupcakes you buy at grocery stores because they don’t look too outlandish, but their flavors are quite unique, like the flavors I got that day: red velvet, key lime, and carrot cake. Their version of red velvet was the very first time I’ve ever tried red velvet, which I think is unusual since it’s a Southern specialty that I seemed to have avoided eating in this last year I’ve lived in Nashville. I’ll be on the prowl for some real red velvet (which is made with cocoa that turns red when oxidized, not with spoonfuls of red dye) when I’m in Nashville this time around.
My stomach was pretty satisfied by the end of the trip; I’d filled it with Thai food, crepes, and cupcakes, a fairly representative sample of foods that I wouldn’t find or willingly eat in Fresno for lack of quality. Until I return, I can say that I left my stomach in San Francisco.
That Takes The Cake 2271 Union St San Francisco, CA (415) 567-8050 Crepes A Go Go 2165 Union St San Francisco, CA (415) 928-1919 King of Thai Noodle House 639 Clement StSan Francisco, CA (415) 752-5198
